Smallville, Son of the Mask, Superman, Elektra: January 12th Comic Reel Wrap

We got an email from the team at Kryptonsite about an image gallery of new promotional photos from the January 26th episode, "Unsafe."

Meanwhile, veteran character actor Terence Stamp talked to Sci Fi Wire about how he got roped into being the voice of Jor-El. "When they came to me for Smallville and said, 'Do you want to be in it?' I said, 'Really no,'" Stamp said. "And then they said, 'Well, how about would you like to be a voice over?' And I said, 'Yeah, I'd love that.' I have this really expensive voice. I mean, it costs dollars to arrive at this. I don't mean I earn a lot from it. And then when they said, 'Well, how about you play Superman's dad?' I said, 'Yeah, but ... [didn't I already do that?]' They said, 'No, we know you were Zod, but would you like to do it?' I said, 'Yeah, if you're sure you want me.'

"I said, 'Do you want it like a Brando? ... I do a very good Brando voice.' And they said, 'No, no, no! Your voice is fine.' So it was ... a treat, really. It's like a treat, because I get a lot of credit. ... A young porter of my building in London where I stay, [he says,] 'Oh, Mr. Stamp, I heard you were in 'Smallville.'' So it's like a connection with a whole new generation of viewers."

SON OF THE MASK

Speaking of Sci Fi Wire, they spoke to director Lawrence Guterman who talked about trying to capture the antic energy of Jim Carrey from the original The Mask and spread it around. "That sort of entertainment value is spread across an ensemble," Guterman said. "There's the baby. There's the dog. There's Loki, the God of Mischief [Alan Cumming]. There's Tim Avery, played by Jamie Kennedy. Even though [Avery] has the Mask briefly, really, the part where he shines in the movie so well is his reaction to being driven completely insane by his Mask-empowered baby."

SUPERMAN

Getting back to the subject of the Last Son of Krypton, IESB was covering the Palm Springs Film Festival and ran into Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey, who talked a little about the "whys" and the "wherefores" and overcoming his own scheduling issues. "You make it work, Bryan is a great friend of mine and of course he is also a great director. He has so much passion for this project. Even before any of the 'X-Men' films he had a great story idea for 'Superman' that he would mention from time to time to his close friends and know he will be able to see his ideas fulfilled. Besides we're talking about Lex Luthor. From what I have been told fans of the first films will recognize plenty but this film will also stand alone. Superman has been around way before the films of the 70's and 80's so the world has an understanding of he is. You also have a great TV show that is showing Clark's younger years and that is shaping up who Superman will eventually become."

ELEKTRA

Back to Sci Fi Wire, they have some words from director Rob Bowman, who talked about getting into the psychology of the character. Elektra was 'What's going on inside of her?'" Bowman said. "Is there more than 'I'm just a good old person who does heroic things?' So, you know, that's what caught my attention ... The supernatural elements ... exist to me as the shape of the villain. You know, movies are only about one thing, [and] that's people. The rest is what you throw at them. We have a very severe character in Elektra, who in a two-hour movie will go through a very intense, painful self-discovery. While she's in the middle of that emotional crisis, we throw very exotic, very dangerous characters at her. I'm always thinking, 'Do I want people to leave their homes, drive to the theater, buy the ticket? The popcorn: It's expensive. So I have to give them reasons to come to the theater, ... many of which are driven by movie magic. What can we do in the movies that they can't afford on television? ... To heighten it like that does, I think, echo what people expect from a comic-book genre. The strength of this film lies not in so much the special effects. It lies in the story of Elektra, and to me ... there is such gravity in her story that I think the balance will be just fine. We do have to be careful and show restraint when it comes to the kind of effects [we have], but to me, ... my mind is in Elektra. The rest is the darts and the things that I'm throwing at her to make her journey more difficult."

BATMAN BEGINS

The official site has been updated with the full screen QuickTime trailer, the international teaser poster, and the film's synopsis.

KEEPING IT REEL

If you have the scoop on anything related to comic book movies, TV adaptations or just want to give us a truck full of cash, no questions asked, drop us a line and let's coordinate. You can choose an alias if you'd like, or be mentioned by name -- we honor requests for anonymity. Broadcasting live from Los Angeles, this is your humble scribe Hannibal Tabu saying thanks for your time and indulgence, I want a Mac Mini, and "don't blame me, I'm drunk too!"